html> Lostvestige: I Went to Canada and All I got Was A Picture of Detroit

I Went to Canada and All I got Was A Picture of Detroit


A Canada visit was planned during our week in Detroit. But time got away from us. Soon we found ourselves on the evening of Thanksgiving, leaving the next day.. It was our last chance to go to Canada.

I've never been out of the country before, and there Canada was, I'd been staring at it all week across the water front. A place I've often dreamed about moving to when things are rough here. I had to go.


We didn't think about it too much, we just continued to drive, past our hotel, through downtown, following signs for Canada.


The Ambassador Bridge glowed eerily in the distance as we passed the point of no return.






After waiting in traffic we finally got to the border patrol agent. He asked why we were coming to Canada, we told him we had never been and wanted to spend a few hours in Cananda and take pictures. He replied with "DRIVING AROUND IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY IS NOT A DESTINATION. 

We told him we were visiting family in Michigan and wanted to visit Canada while we were up here. 
His Response: THIS IS NOT MICHIGAN.

He continued to grill us and I thought he was going to make us turn around, but then he finally said "Welcome to Canada" and opened the gate.


Had we really made it in? It didn't seem real. It felt strange, my phone didn't work, the signs were in French, the speed was in kilometers, everything looked slightly... Different.. But almost the same.

 Like an alternate reality.

We drove around for a bit, almost getting lost since I couldn't pull up directions, but we eventually found our way to the water front and admired how pretty Detroit looked from the shores of Canada.



We felt like we were someplace we didn't belong. We felt strange and out of place, like we had sneaked into the country! Probably because the border guard gave us such a hard time.
 And maybe because it was almost midnight by now.
Maybe it was because Windsor wasn't a very exciting city.
Maybe because we didn't plan anything out and had no idea what to do. 
Maybe because nothing was open at this hour of the night.

I stared across the water, missing Detroit.

We thought about stopping somewhere, getting some food, making the most of our Canada trip. But we mostly just wanted to get back to America, because part of me was paranoid they wouldn't let us back in for some reason.


But this time it was much easier, no crazy questions, we breezed right through, we made it back.





So my first trip out of the country wasn't anything like I had expected.   But now I am looking forward to a proper trip to Canada, one that is more planned out! 

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